1983 Chevrolet Camaro 4L60E Upgrade - Transmission

We Happily Take Out Our Third-Gen’s’ 80s-Era Overdrive And Shift Into A New 4L60E

While the gas crunch that rang in the ’80s can be held responsible for the sub-200 hp “muscle cars” that were jammed down our throats by the Big Three in those days, it also brought us a grip of new technology. At the outset, innovations such as computer controls and electronic fuel injection that were deemed necessary to lessen harmful emissions and increase fuel mileage were unsettling and unwelcome, mostly due to our lack of familiarity with their inner workings. But it wasn’t long before the aftermarket embraced (read “found a way to modify”) this equipment as is evident by their place in today’s hot rods.

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Possibly the best piece of new equipment to come out of the ‘80s was the overdrive transmission. And today you’d be hard-pressed to find a hopped up muscle car in any garage or car show without a four-speed automatic, five- or six-speed manual, or an auxiliary overdrive unit. While these babies made their way onto Detroit's assembly lines because of their decreased fuel consumption, we quickly found out that they made our high-performance rides more drivable (and fun to drive). We've heard more than one enthusiast make the claim that an overdrive was “the single biggest performance improvement” he had made to his car. With the advent of overdrive, the disadvantages of adding stiffer rearend gears, a slippery converter, and more camshaft barely enter into the debate. Now you just do it because having the extra gear makes it all easier to live with.

The 700R that was putting the power to the ground in our Crossfire Z was first introduced by Chevrolet in 1982, and would eventually replace the Turbo 350. It offered a new lower 3.06:1 first gear and a 30-percent overdrive fourth gear. The originals did have some inherent problems and were prone to failure, especially when put behind anything with decent horsepower. The best thing that ever happened to these transmissions, renamed in 1990 to 4L60, was the conversion in 1993 to a computer-controlled shifting system. Designated the 4L60E, the electronic trans uses a computer to provide unlimited shift point and pressure adjustability as well as eliminates the often-problematic throttle valve (TV) cable adjustment. With 25-plus years of refinement, and the hard work of aftermarket experts like the folks at Phoenix Transmission, it’s now possible for these transmissions to handle almost 600 hp.

So follow along, and we’ll show you what it takes to upgrade a third-gen with one of Phoenix’s 4L60E’s (PN PT4L60ESS, $2056).

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1983 Chevrolet Camaro 4L60E Upgrade - Transmission

First things first. It’s always a good idea to drop the pan and get the majority of the fluid out of the trans. Once you get the trans out and on the floor, you’ll prefer this method over the “running-out-the-tail-shaft-onto-the-garage” routine.

Third-gen Camaros are blessed with torque arm suspension systems that solidly link the transmission tail housing and rearend. It goes without saying that the torque arm has to be removed to get the transmission out.

We won’t bore you with all of the gory details, but you’ll have to remove all of the transmission’s lifelines including the kick-down cable, transmission lines, converter lock up cable, dipstick tube and transmission linkage. Even though the new 4L60E will be electronically shifted, the trans still needs to get mechanical input from the shifter.

With the crossmember out, we slightly lowered the trans jack to give us clearance to remove the transmission’s bell housing bolts. And of course, using a really long extension and swivel socket is also necessary. But before you do this, remember to remove the distributor cap to prevent it from getting broken when the engine rocks back into the firewall.

Here’s our new Phoenix Street/Strip 4L60E transmission It’s dyno’d and ready to make its way into our Camaro.

After the stock tail housing is taken off of the transmission, in some instances it may be necessary to remove the stock VSS drive gear. Once again, with the correct tool, anything can be made easy. This is a pretty common puller that can be rented from a local tool supply or auto parts store. Without it, you could seriously damage your transmission output shaft.

With our Phoenix trans installed and the torque arm firmly attached, we are ready to put power to the ground.

Our third-gen has the ideal trans cooler mounting area, but still requires the removal of the upper valance panel. The Phoenix cooler was the perfect size (8 ¼x11 ¾-inch) to fit between the hood latch mounting bracket and the AC condenser. We’ll use the heavy-duty rubber hose provided to splice the auxiliary cooler inline with the cooler passage in the radiator.

Even in weekend cruiser applications like our Camaro, Phoenix recommends the use of an auxiliary transmission cooler. The unit they supplied (PN PTLPD-4707, $82.04) is a stacked-plate design that gives 16,000 BTU cooling ability and has an internal bypass valve which redirects cold fluid until the correct operating temperature is reached.

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